Mitt Romney has a double digit lead for the Republican Presidential nomination in Florida ... Romney is at 27% to 17% for Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, 10% for Herman Cain, 8% for Newt Gingrich, 7% for Ron Paul, 4% for Tim Pawlenty, and 2% for Jon Huntsman.

Bachmann's 17% standing represents a 10 point gain from PPP's last Florida poll in late March, when she stood at only 7%. Her strength comes from leading the field with 'very conservative' voters at 21%, followed by Palin at 20%, and Romney at 18% ... If you take Palin out of the mix, Bachmann picks up 37% of her supporters ... That leaves the overall standings in a Palin less field at 29% for Romney, 22% for Bachmann, 14% for Cain, and 10% for Gingrich.

Only time will tell if Bachmann can sustain this momentum and hold up under the scrutiny and pressure of a presidential campaign. But polls like this make it a little harder to define her as an Iowa-only, Pat Robertson kind of candidate.

One bigger pattern that comes through in the PPP numbers is the obvious desire for a strong, right-wing candidate in the race. Bachmann, Cain and Gingrich add up to 46 percent of the vote in Florida, even though most Republicans would agree that all three face long odds of actually winning the Republican nomination. How many of those voters would go to Rick Perry if they suddenly had the option of supporting a 10-year governor with a stronger political operation and Bachmann-level tea party creds?